Female Genital Mutilation vs Labia Correction Surgery: where are the boundaries?

Within the human rights discourse, especially in Western countries, there is general consensus that FGM is a violation of women’s human rights. States criminalize FGM which predominantly exists among migrant groups from Africa, and they develop policies to prevent parents from taking their daughters to countries where FGM is practiced for fear that they will subject them to the surgery there. FGM is regarded as a cultural practice that is harmful for girls and women, and that affects the victims’ health and well-being. Moreover, FGM is considered to be a manifestation of the inequality between men and women and existing stereotypes.

Interestingly, at the same time, plastic surgery without any medical necessity is a phenomenon that has spread across Europe and North America at an alarming rate. Girls and women make use of various types of surgery, including vaginoplasty and labiaplasty, to live up to current beauty ideals without general rejection or opposition in society or by the legislator, and without questioning gender norms. This situation begs several questions about socio-cultural drivers and justifications of intervention that can only be answered if regarded from the viewpoint of different disciplines, in particular law (human rights law and criminal law), health and medicine, sociology, cultural studies, and ethics.